“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” -George Bernard Shaw
We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing world.
Information is coming at us at a high speed with value placed on immediacy. Change affects everyone and it is inevitable. In a shrinking global village, with a rapid influx of information, we are literally inundated with daily change, both close to home and around the world. For most of us, change causes stress. However, we can learn to effectively manage change and increase our resiliency to it.
Most of us have something, in some part of our lives, that we want to change.
Typically, some areas of our lives are easier to change than others, but there are common areas where change can create a great deal of uneasiness, stress, fear, and resistance. What can be confusing is that whether the change is voluntary or involuntary, even positive change can elicit a stress response. For anyone who has tried to break a bad habit, you know how difficult change can be. The idea might present as logical and practical, but the outcome sometimes seems impossible.
We are faced with daily decisions on what changes we should make in our lives, based on a continuous flow of new information. Often, this fast-paced society we live in prompts change long before we are ready for it.
So why do people find it so hard to change?
Relationships, work/career, and lifestyle are the areas in which we are most commonly prompted to, or desired to change. Divorce, breakups, job loss or change, and mental and physical health issues all have a high impact in our lives. Whether gradual or sudden, wanted or unwanted, change in these areas is often met with a range of strong emotional responses.
To continue reading about why people find it so hard to change, and what strong emotional responses come with this, be sure to stay tuned for the next blog.
